When you feel fear, stress, or anxiety—do you collapse or take control?

Think about situations like:

introducing yourself to a group of strangers, presenting to a big crowd, or speaking up in the boardroom;
standing up to the school bully or playing the bigger, better sports team;
confessing times you were wrong or admitting you need help.

Being vulnerable isn’t easy. Putting yourself out there, exposing chinks in your armor, can cause discomfort, stress, and anxiety.

A common misconception: moments of vulnerability are moments of weakness.

Vulnerability lives in our minds. It produces a restrictive grip on our mental abilities, sometimes paralyzing us more than any physical restrictions ever do. It holds us back from rational thinking, achieving our potential, and living our lives uninhibited by fear.

How do you take control?

We shouldn’t be afraid to take risks, fail, or falter. We must embrace uncertainty and take a leap of faith from time to time. It’s in those moments where so much learning, progress, and growth—the magic of life—coexist.

The next time you are under pressure and feel the tightness in your chest or your blood pressure rising—take control. Emotional irrationality won’t serve you, so try to acknoweldge that the physical response doesn’t support logical or intentional thinking. Take a deep breath, stand tall, and defend your ideas with thoughtful delivery. Lean into the discomfort with a clear mind.

Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.

Fear, stress, and anxiety are indicators of growth, progress, and success. The most successful people in sports and business chase fear and uncertainty. They become experts at mastering vulnerability. Moving toward fear is an absolute must—if we don’t, we’re robbing ourselves of the complete human experience. Comfort deprives us of reaching our potential. Who we surround ourselves with is important, too.

What are friends for?

When you live at your edge, embracing your vulnerabilities, the reactions of those nearest to you are indicators of their authenticity. In those moments, if the people around you—your community—returns overwhelming support, you know they’re truly your people. They’re there for you and will be there to pick you up if you fall. After my accident, and more recently, after writing my book, my community has supported me at my most vulnerable. In the pages of my book, I let me guard down, and thankfully, the response has been uplifting.

I am grateful for my people.

If your people don’t prop you up when you need it, trust that they just gave you a gift. They’re showing you that they’re not authentically ‘your people,’ The good news?

You don’t need them.

Your willingness to embrace the unknown, fear, anxiety, and emotions that keep you paralyzed, gives you the strength to blaze new trails. People who throw your vulnerabilities back at you are those who liberate you, offering opportunity for growth. It may take time, but we all find our communities and the people who lift us up when we let our most authentic selves shine.

Vulnerability isn’t weakness. Being vulnerable demands strength. Within vulnerability lies your capacity for courage. It doesn’t mean you are meager; it means you are resilient. Being vulnerable takes vigor, and in those moments, we grow beyond measure.

Vulnerability Is Strength